1. Field
Embodiments of the present invention relate to a display device. More particularly, example embodiments of the present invention relate to a method of driving a display panel and a display device for performing the method.
2. Description of Related Art
Generally, a liquid crystal display (LCD) device includes a display panel having a plurality of pixels that includes a liquid crystal layer having a dielectric anisotropic material between a pixel electrode and a common electrode and a driving unit that drives the display panel. The LCD device may display an image by controlling light transmittance of the liquid crystal layer based on an intensity of an electric field formed between the pixel electrode and the common electrode.
The liquid crystal layer may deteriorate due to polarization if a voltage of the same polarity is continuously applied to the liquid crystal layer. In order to reduce or prevent the deterioration of the liquid crystal layer, the LCD device may periodically invert a polarity of the electric field formed between the pixel electrode and the common electrode. Conventional inversion methods include a frame inversion method, a line inversion method, a dot inversion method, etc.
In the conventional inversion methods, an effective voltage provided to pixels in a lower region of the display panel may be smaller than an effective voltage provided to pixels in an upper region of the display panel according to the manner in which a common voltage is applied to invert a polarity of the electric field formed between the pixel electrode and the common electrode. Hence, in the display panel, the brightness of the lower region may be lower than the brightness of the upper region.